Outdoor News Daily

Puget Sound marine areas currently open for recreational winter crabbing will close at sunset Jan. 2, after which all sport crabbers licensed to fish for crab in the Sound will have 13 days to report their winter catch.

State fishing rules require that all sport crabbers submit catch reports for the winter season to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) by Jan. 15 – even if they did not catch any crab. With the end of the winter crab season, which runs from Sept. 8 to Jan. 2, all Puget Sound marine areas will be closed to recreational crabbing until summer 2010.

Sport crabbers should be aware that if they fail to submit a winter catch report, they will receive a $10 fine when they purchase their 2010 crab endorsement, said Rich Childers, WDFW shellfish policy lead.

“The 2009 winter crab fishing season is the first one for which fines will be issued, but we’re hoping everyone turns in their catch reports and avoids the penalty altogether,” Childers said.

“By submitting their catch data, crabbers play an important role in managing the Puget Sound crab fishery,” he said. “We need to hear from everyone who was issued a winter catch card – including from those who didn’t catch any crab.”

To submit catch reports, crabbers may send their catch record card to WDFW by mail or file their report on a special webpage on the department’s licensing website. The mailing address is WDFW CRC Unit, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091. The online reporting system will be available Jan. 3-15 at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wdfw/puget_sound_crab_catch.html.

Sport crabbers who file their catch reports by the Jan. 15 deadline will be entered in a drawing for one of 10 free combination fishing licenses, which allow the holder to fish for a variety of freshwater and saltwater species during the 2010-11 season.

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